The village, established in the 15th century during the early part of the Le Dynasty, was known as Dong Quyet.

This was later changed to Phuoc Giang and Hoang Giang before it took its present name under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 to 1945).

Special architectural and cultural values remain in the village, which has more than 20 houses built more than a century ago.

There are also relics like communal houses, pagodas, temples, clans’ altar houses, Champa culture relics, village wells, remains of a pottery kiln and century-old trees and gardens.

The village’s ancient houses are also known as nha ruong, which is a kind of residence built with artfully carved wooden pillars and bars. They are held together with wooden pegs so they can be easily dismantled.

The houses are invariably made of good quality and a long-lasting wood. They are usually surrounded by a garden designed to feng-shui principles.

A house is considered to combine the main features of durability, comfort and harmony.

Many of the documents are dia chi (geography, history and cultural compilations of the provinces) which were inscribed in Han-Nom (Vietnamese hieroglyphic scripts based on its Chinese counterpart) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Other documents chronicle the politics, economy, culture and religion of both the Kinh (Vietnamese) ethnic majority group living in the coastal plain, and minority mountainous tribes.

Family tree books, records of village conventions and royal conferments are also featured.

Included among the exhibit is a book on the customs of Thai group written on treated tree leaves more than 400 years ago.

The documents are permanently stored in libraries in the north-central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.

The group visited Vinh Moc Tunnel and then toured of Phong Nha-Ke Bang cave, the world’s natural heritage.

Visiting the former imperial city of Hue, the Thai visitors will enjoy Hue songs while cruising along the Huong (perfume) River. They will call at Thien Mu Pagoda and buy souvenirs at Dong Ba Market and have sunbathing at Lang Co Beach.

They will visit the Champa Sculpture Art Museum and the Non Nuoc stone sculpture village in Danang City and visit the ancient quarter of Hoi An.

The group has been in Vietnam as guests of Thua Thien-Hue Province’s Huong Giang Travel Co. Ltd. The company has so far this year welcomed 2,000 Thai visitors to Hue by land route.

Now the centre is planning various activities to promote Vietnam’s landscape, people and culture to French people and the Vietnamese community in France.

It is cooperating with the Vietnamese Department of Fine Arts to display internationally acclaimed Vietnamese art works, which have been awarded at international competitions. It is also working with the Ministry of Information and Communications to hold an exhibition of books from Vietnam’s publishing houses and arrange conferences on the centre’s upcoming activities.

At the beginning of this year, the centre carried out a campaign to intensify advertising tourism in Vietnam, especially by sea and by air, said Pham Xuan Sinh, Director of the Centre.

In addition, the centre plans to show a series of films about the capital city of Hanoi on the occasion of its 1,000th anniversary in 2010 and a photo exhibition on Hanoi’s old quarter.

In the near future, a space dedicated to Vietnamese culture, offering a wide variety of newspapers, magazines and documents about the country will be opened in the centre.